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War of the Century
The War of the Century 'was a large scale conflict starting just before the turn of the ERA 09th century. Frequently described as the first "Total War", the offensive involved every country on the home continent, contributing a total of 100 million personnel to the fight. These factors made the war one of the largest and costliest conflict in history, with military and civillian casualties in the tens of millions. Unprecedented at the time, the conflict would ultimately pale in comparison to the significantly bloodier ERA 09-55 Offensive later in the century. Hostilities first flared up in the ERA 08-90s in a period known as the "New Century Unrest", where several regions under the control of the major superpowers, the Great Empire and the United Republic, either changed sides or made bids for independence. This resulted in new alliances being formed, and large concentrations of troops being committed to fighting to, depending on the situation, suppress or defend the uprisings. At the end of the conflict, major territories had resulted, but the world fell back into its previous state of stalemate. The war is characterised by many pioneering technologies such as aircraft, armour, chemical weapons and automatic infantry weapons as well as advanced tactics such as combined arms and indirect artillery fire. However, the high casualty rate of the conflict meant many of these fledgling techniques were neglected in the decades of stalemate after the war. Background By the beginning of the ERA 08th century, the United Republic controlled most of the continent, opposed only by the prosperous Great Empire in the west, and a number of independent countries such as Causeway and Zicia that, although theoretically neutral, were perceived to fall within the Imperial sphere of influence. Although possessing the most powerful military on the continent, a combination of the turmoil brought on by the industrial revolution and the population boom that preceded it resulted in destabilisation within the eastern superpower. The increased demand of food and raw materials to sustain an expanding populace, in addition to widespread unemployment, had put a great strain on the economy of the United Republic. The burden fell most heavily on the periphery annexed territories who, far from the industrial centres of the superpower, were subject to starvation and mass relocation. This, in turn with the loosening military grasp of the superpower on the region due to the crisis, gave way to widespread demonstrations within several occupied areas. In ERA 08-98, after months of civil unrest, the mountainous central territory of Varia declared its intentions to become independent. A year later, in the far east, tribal tension in the sparsely populated puppet state of the Robbian Republic result in the country splitting in two, with the southern half pledging allegiance to the Great Empire. The same year, the heavily populated region of Heartland, previously a powerful independent nation that was conquered by the United Republic hundreds of years ago, was the next in line to revolt. Inspired by the demonstrations of Varia and Robb, the aspirational leaders of the revolution embarked on a large-scale popular uprising to reclaim their country's independence, and possibly uniting with the other dissenting nations as a single power. It was this revelation that finally woke the United Republic up to the scale of the crisis unfolding before them. Varia and Robb were considered too weak to rebel against the might of the UF and of little strategic value, respectively, but Heartland was a different case entirely. The resource rich and heavily industrialised nation was considered vital to supporting the interior population of the Republic, and it was these resources combined with the sheer number of Heartlandian people that made a revolution a dire threat. In mid ERA 08-99 the United Republic began to mobilize its occupation forces to extinguish the revolts, resulting in a number of harsh crackdowns. In the rural areas, civilians were denied food and supplies after roads were sealed off by troops, while in the cities, any demonstrations were met with severe, usually lethal, retaliation. Instead of quelling the revolt, the brutality of the United Republic response incited a massive armed uprising across the nation, leaving the outnumbered occupation forces in danger of being driven out of the country. Seeking to make an example of Heartland, the United Republic mobilized a reaction force of several million men to enact a plan of supreme vengeance. Known as "Operation Defiance", the plan called for the destruction of all infrastructure within Heartland - food and goods production facilities, transport systems, and virtually all major urban centres were ordered bombed, burned or otherwise wiped out, reducing the country to one reminiscent of medieval times. With that, a war of unparalleled brutality began in earnest. The ever increasing catastrophe that was unfolding inside the United Republic had not gone unnoticed by the Great Empire, who viewing this as an opportunity to finally crush its greatest rival, had began to ready its forces for an offensive. To further destabilize the Republic and keep its troops occupied, the Great Empire had agreed to begin supplying the Heartlandian revolutionaries with arms via the nation's rebel-held southern ports - those bordering the neutral nation of Causeway. The Empire's long term intention was to annex the region for itself, believing an eventual Heartlandian victory could only be achieved with the assistance of Imperial troops. Otherwise, the opposing factions in Heartland would bleed themselves white fighting each other, leaving the region vulnerable to an attack by the Great Empire. Meanwhile, the nation contributed similar materiel support to Varia and Southern Robb, who by October ERA 08-99 were preparing their own armed uprisings. Seeking to pre-empt violence in these regions, the United Forces were mobilized to Varia and the Robbian Republic that same month. A massive build-up of troops along the Republic's western border was blocked by the independent nation of Causeway, who refused entry to UF troops. Intending to seize the so-called "Causeway Corridor" - the southern frontier's land route to Varia and the Great Empire - in order to limit the movement of supplies and troops being sent to aid Heartland and the Varian resistance, the United Republic revoked its treaty of non-aggression and subsequently invaded Causeway on the 21st of December ERA 08-99. Within the week, the ready-to-mobilize Imperial forces had been landed in Causeway to assist in its defence. On New-year's day ERA 09-00, the War of the Century was in full swing. Course of War Heartland In Heartland, from July ERA 08-99 to October 09-02, the people of Heartland fought against the United Republic's Territorial Army, seeking to enact its "Defiance" plan against the rebelling nation. Initially, fighting was concentrated in the urban areas, where the mostly untrained but numerous army of conscripts, armed with a mixture of stolen UF equipment and that supplied by the Great Empire, were embroiled against the slightly better organized but similarly augmented UF in siege warfare. Later on in the war, as the central industrial areas were returned to rebel control, the front stabilized in the rural areas of the tundral plains of the north and the jungles of the south, and formal training programs for the newly formed Heartland Ground Forces were introduced. Domestic equipment was also manufactured in increasingly larger numbers. As the conflict raged out of control elsewhere on the continent, the United Republic's army in Heartland was slowly reduced in an attritional war, and territory was gradually ceded to the revolutionaries, who despite equally horrendous losses, were gathering strength as they reclaimed their territories. By October ERA 09-02, the UF had been pushed back onto their own historical soil, with the Heartland army consolidating on the eastern borders. A counter-attack by the UF in December ERA 09-02 gained no ground, and was called off within a month. Heartland had been completely lost to the revolutionaries. Around the same time, the Great Empire, after frustrating all efforts to gain ground in Heartland through political means, launched a surprise attack against Heartland from the west, seeking to exploit the situation and gain ground while Heartland's main forces were locked in battle against the UF's counter-attack. However, the quick cancellation of the eastern border offensive allowed Heartland to transfer its armies west and put up stiff resistance against the Imperial betrayal. Outnumbered, the overextended spearhead of the Imperial attack was quickly encircled and destroyed, forcing an end to the campaign in February ERA 09-03. Although no major offensives took place in Heartland for the remainder of the conflict, hostilities were common along the newly formed static frontline, as a result of the UF brutality and Imperial treachery. At the end of the conflict, Heartland had established itself as an independent nation, and thanks to its large population, industrial capacity and domestic strategic resources, could support a massive and powerful army. In the years after the war, Heartland worked to rebuild the damage of the Defiance plan, further cementing itself as the world's third superpower. Causeway The Battle for Causeway began in December ERA 08-99 when UF forces invaded the neutral country to pre-empt the Imperial relief effort in Varia and Heartland. Although outnumbered, the Causewegian army managed to hold the line until Great Imperial forces arrived in the country to support them. Warfare in Causeway during the War of the Century was largely static, with small amounts of ground being gained and lost over the many years of battle. By ERA 09-06, the Causeway front was the main line of contest left in the conflict, with increasingly large numbers of opposing troops being sent to the horrific battle of attrition that characterised the war in the region. By this time, however, advances in technology and tactics had allowed for an increasingly more mobile form of warfare, with losses and gains in territory becoming more significant as the battle progressed. By the summer of ERA 09-07 the front line had become increasingly dynamic, with the combined Imperial and Causewegian armies steadily beginning to outmanoeuvre and outpace the United Republic's forces, finally driving them out of the country in early ERA 09-08, and brining an end to the War of the Century. Causeway remained as an independent nation, whilst managing to gain some land from Norta along its north-east and south-east border. Varia Armed conflict in Varia began in March ERA 09-00 after a small contingent of UF troops that managed to reach the country through Causeway began to enact their suppression of Varian dissidents. At this time, Varia had a small core of professional soldiers using captured UF equipment that was bolstered by a larger militia force using Imperial and domestically produced arms. The equipment of the militia was of low quality, and this in addition to a lack of training, meant the Varian revolutionary forces were ill-suited to deal with the trickle of UF reinforcements pushing in from the north. Unlike in Heartland, the Varians did not possess an advantage in numbers, and lost much of their territory during the first stage of the offensive. Their lines stabilised in the winter of that year as the UF reached the more mountainous terrain of the country's centre. The Varians quickly adapted to this kind of warfare, putting up a staunch defence concentrated around mountain holdouts. Despite this, the Varia forces were pushed back into an increasingly shrinking pocket along the country's southern-coast. Devoid of reinforcements from the Great Empire, it was only with the closing of the Causeway Corridor by allied forces in the autumn of ERA 09-05 that relieved pressure of the Varia front line. Over the next two years, the UF were slowly pushed back north as the battle for Causeway reached its climax. Badly mauled in the fighting, Varia ultimately lacked the military strength to stand on its own after the war, and was instead forced to join the Great Empire, giving up its territory to the western superpower. Robbian Republic At the beginning of the offensive, conflict in the Robbian region was between the UF-backed New Robbian State in the north of the country and the Imperial-aligned Southern Independent State to the south. Low intensity civil war gave way to all out conflict when, in April ERA 09-03, the newly formed Imperial Desert Force was deployed to the region in order to secure a path to strike at the real areas of the United Republic. The UF responded by increasing support to the New State Army significantly. Warfare in the desert was significantly more mobile than elsewhere on the continent, and by the end of ERA 09-05 the Imperials had made significant gains. However, the New State Army, which was severely underrated by the enemy due to its size and early tactics, adapted to the invader's strategy and reversed their gains, eventually forcing them to withdraw in late ERA 09-06. The New State became the ruling party in the aftermath of the Imperial defeat, with the Southern Independent State abolished. For its loyalty during the War of the Century, the United Republic granted the Robbian State independence in ERA 09-09. Zicia Conflict in Zicia was limited during the War of the Century, with the Zician armed forces, favouring the Great Empire, mainly participating in naval engagements against UF incursions into the Great Channel. Each side made offensives into each other's territory during the conflict, but none made much progress. Additionally, a contingent of Zician troops fought against the UF in as an expeditionary corps in Causeway. Belligerents Below is a list of belligerents of the War of the Century. Nations of the Eastern Continental Pact lead by the United Republic opposed the Imperial Alliance during the conflict, with Heartland establishing itself as an independent superpower. Eastern Continental Pact (United Republic) *United Republic **Norta **Greenland **Drebland *Robbian Republic (split into New Robbian State and Southern Independent State in ERA 08-99) **New Robbian State (Allied from ERA 08-99) *Varia (Revolted in ERA 09-00) Imperial Alliance (Great Empire) *Great Empire **Aris **Coast **Tundra *Varia (Annexed by Great Empire in ERA 09-08) **Varian Loyalist Insurrection (Revolted from United Republic in ERA 09-00) *Causeway (Allied from ERA 08-99) *Zicia (Allied from ERA 08-99) *Revolutionary Heartland (Allied from ERA 08-98 to 09-02) Neutral (Heartland) *Revolutionary Heartland (Revolted from United Republic in ERA 08-98) **Independent State of Heartland (Established in ERA 09-02) Main Doctrines United Republic Great Empire Heartland Causeway Varia Zicia Timeline *'Heartlandian Revolution (July ERA 08-99 to February 09-03) Aftermath